Grêmio move another step closer to the title

Porto Alegre side, Grêmio, got back to winning ways on Sunday when they disposed of Vasco 2-1 in the estádio Olímpico.

Grêmio, though, had to wait until the second-half when Soares scored a rare goal for the club. Alan Kardec put Vasco back in it – only for Marcel to head home with around 15 minutes left in the game.

Palmeiras had Diego Souza to thank for the points away to Atlético Paranaense. Since the departure of Valdivia to Al-Ain, Souza has been forced to take a more prominent role. In the Arena de Baixada, the midfielder demonstrated exactly what he’s capable of by heading one in, and then scoring another excellent goal after a slalam dribble took him past Alan Bahia and Danilo. Alan Bahia got Atlético’s consolation goal from the penalty spot.

Cruzeiro have gone three games without a win after they drew 1-1 with Coritiba in Belo Horizonte. Cruzeiro could have taken all the points but Guilherme had a penalty stopped by Vanderlei. Adílson Batista’s team now sit 8 points behind Grêmio.

Botafogo dropped more points after being held 1-1 by a spirited Náutico in the estádio Engenhão. Ney Franco’s side dominated the first-half and could have been three up before the break. But even after Alceu was sent off for Náutico, Botafogo failed to capitalize and Adriano’s header cancelled out Carlos Alberto’s goal in the first period.

Vitória were expected to pummel bottom side Ipatinga in Bahia. But that didn’t happen and the Minas Gerias team came away with a surprise point after the match ended 0-0.

At the end of last season, São Paulo and Santos finished first and second respectively. This year, their final positions look like being radically different as São Paulo currently sit in 5th. Santos are just one off the bottom. Earlier in this campaign, the two drew 0-0 in a truly dreadful game in the Vila Belmiro. On Sunday, they repeated the score in the Morumbi.

In a scintillating match in the Maracanã, Fluminense keeper Fernando Henrique was in outstanding form to deny Flamengo maximum points. Flu went in front after a cracking strike from Dario Conca. Fla came back when Marcelinho Paraíba got his first goal for the club. Flu retook the lead though Mauricio but ex Manchester United midfielder, Kléberson, ensured Fla a share of the spoils. See the best moments here

There was no change in the relegation zone but now only five points separate the bottom seven clubs.

See the table and all the results from the Campeonato Brasileiro round 23 here